What is Adobee ransomware? And how does it implement its attack?
Adobee ransomware is one of the crypto-viruses discovered in the last week of January 2019. It is also known as Adobe ransomware as it uses either “.adobe” or “.adobee” extensions in marking its encrypted files. It is also another addition to the STOP ransomware group. There are only a few changes in this latest variant as it still implements its attack the same way as its predecessors. It now uses two new email addresses such as [email protected] and [email protected].
The instant it starts to implement its attack, Adobee ransomware will make a series of changes in the computer. These changes involve downloading other malicious files and placing them to several system folders. This is done in order to launch or repress system processes. Apart from controlling processes, Adobee ransomware also modifies the Windows Registry by messing with the values of registry keys and sub-keys. This allows the crypto-virus to execute its attack automatically each time the computer starts.
Following system modification, Adobee ransomware encrypts important files in the system using the AES encryption algorithm. After the encryption, it appends either the .adobee or .adobe extension to every encrypted file and opens the _openme.txt file which contains the following message:
“———————- ALL YOUR FILES ARE ENCRYPTED ———————-
Don’t worry, you can return all your files!
All your files documents, photos, databases and other important are encrypted with strongest encryption and unique key.
The only method of recovering files is to purchase decrypt tool and unique key for you.
This software will decrypt all your encrypted files.
What guarantees you have?
You can send one of your encrypted file from your PC and we decrypt it for free.
But we can decrypt only 1 file for free. File must not contain valuable information.
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hxxps://files.danwin1210.me/uploads/01-2019/Decrypt%20Software%20Overview.avi
Price of private key and decrypt software is $980.
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Please note that you’ll never restore your data without payment.
Check your e-mail “Spam” folder if you don’t get answer more than 6 hours.
—————————————————————————
To get this software you need write on our e-mail:
[email protected]
Reserve e-mail address to contact us:
[email protected]
Your personal ID:
{random-44-character-alphanumeric-id}”
How is the payload file of Adobee ransomware disseminated online?
Like the other recent variants of STOP ransomware, Adobee ransomware spreads the web using various methods. It may spread via unprotected Remote Desktop Protocol configuration, freeware or shareware downloads, torrent files, bogus software updates, exploit kits, as well as malicious spam emails. This is why you have to be extra cautious in downloading files online and make sure to always keep both your antivirus program and computer system updated to prevent threats like Adobee ransomware from infiltrating your computer.
Terminate Adobee ransomware from your compromised PC with the help of the following removal instructions.
Step 1: First, tap the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys in your keyboard to open the Task Manager.
Step 2: After opening the Task Manager, go to the Processes tab and look for a process named “Cossy.exe” as well as any suspicious-looking process that takes up most of your CPU’s resources and is most likely related to Adobee ransomware.
Step 3: After that, close the Task Manager.
Step 4: Tap Win + R, type in appwiz.cpl and click OK or tap Enter to open Programs and Features under Control Panel.
Step 5: Under the list of installed programs, look for Adobee ransomware or anything similar and then uninstall it.
Step 6: Next, close Control Panel and tap Win + E keys to launch File Explorer.
Step 7: Navigate to the following locations below and look for Adobee ransomware’s malicious components such as “_openme.txt”, [random].exe and other suspicious files, then delete all of them.
- %TEMP%
- %WINDIR%\System32\Tasks
- %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Templates\
- %USERPROFILE%\Downloads
- %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
Step 8: Close the File Explorer.
Before you proceed to the next steps below, make sure that you are tech savvy enough to the point where you know exactly how to use and navigate your computer’s Registry. Keep in mind that any changes you make will highly impact your computer. To save you the trouble and time, you can just use [product-name], this system tool is proven to be safe and excellent enough that hackers won’t be able to hack into it. But if you can manage Windows Registry well, then by all means go on to the next steps.
Step 9: Tap Win + R to open Run and then type in regedit in the field and tap enter to pull up Windows Registry.
Step 10: Navigate to the following path:
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\
- HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop\
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
Step 11: Delete the registry keys and sub-keys created by Adobee ransomware.
Step 12: Close the Registry Editor and empty the Recycle Bin.
Try to recover your encrypted files using the Shadow Volume copies
Restoring your encrypted files using Windows’ Previous Versions feature will only be effective if Adobee ransomware hasn’t deleted the shadow copies of your files. But still, this is one of the best and free methods there is, so it’s definitely worth a shot.
To restore the encrypted file, right-click on it and select Properties, a new window will pop-up, then proceed to Previous Versions. It will load the file’s previous version before it was modified. After it loads, select any of the previous versions displayed on the list like the one in the illustration below. And then click the Restore button.
Complete the removal process of Adobee ransomware by using a trusted and reliable program like [product-name]. Refer to the following guidelines on how to use it.
Perform a full system scan using [product-code]. To do so, follow these steps:
- Turn on your computer. If it’s already on, you have to reboot it.
- After that, the BIOS screen will be displayed, but if Windows pops up instead, reboot your computer and try again. Once you’re on the BIOS screen, repeat pressing F8, by doing so the Advanced Option shows up.
- To navigate the Advanced Option use the arrow keys and select Safe Mode with Networking then hit
- Windows will now load the Safe Mode with Networking.
- Press and hold both R key and Windows key.
- If done correctly, the Windows Run Box will show up.
- Type in the URL address, [product-url] in the Run dialog box and then tap Enter or click OK.
- After that, it will download the program. Wait for the download to finish and then open the launcher to install the program.
- Once the installation process is completed, run [product-code] to perform a full system scan.
- After the scan is completed click the “Fix, Clean & Optimize Now” button.
